The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1887-09-07
AMONG THE RUINS.
Searching for the Victims of
the Theatre Fire.
SOME MOST PIrlFUL SCENES.
a Law Governing the Construction
and Management OF Public
Places Should Follow.
The Theatre Disaster.

LONDON, September 6.-The victims
by the burning of the Theatre Royal
last night, were mostly working people.
As soon as the flames were put out q
large force began searching for bodies.
The stairway leading to the gallery was
literally packed with bodies, while al
the head of the stairs there were scores
OF others piled one on top of anOtner.
The unfortunate victims had rushed to
the door when the alarm was given
but found the stairway blocked and
escape cut of, In a short time the
flames reached them. and they suffered
q horrible death. There were pitiful
scenes in the vicinity OF the burned
theatre, this morning, as the friends
and relatives of the supposed victims
waited the recovery of the bodies. In
many cases fathers and mothers both
persisted, and numerous children are
thus left without means of support.
Several bodies were burned SO that
only small cinder remained. The
number of persons severely injured is
sixty. 1t is feared the deaths will
reach 40. -. -
1t is asceruained that there were 200
persons occupying seats in the gallery :,
and of these, 100 lost their lives. The
search for bodies still goes on. 1t is
very probable that the total deaths will
never be ascertained, owing to the fact
that many bodies were completely cal
cined. Two stalls of stables belonging
to the hotel adjoining are filled with the
remains that IL is impossible to identify.
Most of the killed were adults and
chiefly men. But few children persisted.
More bodies have been taken from the
ruins. The charred remains of twenty
persons were discovered in one heap.
A mother, father and child were
found cIasped in one embrace
In nearly every case the clothing had
been torn off the victims. From many
of the bodies the limbs were missing,
and the remains showed evidence that
they had been wrenched off Several
whole families, numbering from two to
five persons lost their lives. The con-
struction of the gallery staircase ac-
counts for the great loss of life. Half
way down the flight there was a sharp
angle. The first person who left the
gallery got past safely, but several of
those who followed were thrown and
jammed into the angle and unable to ex.
tricate themselves owing to the pressu e
from behind. The staircase at this
place was effectually blocked and there
was no other way to escape. The
scene shifter says the fire started
among some gauze which became
ignited. The flames spread to the
scenes, OF which the stage was unus Tally
full owing to preparations for the pro-
d ction OF pantomime. The audience
numbered 800 persons.
LONDON, September 6.-The Standard
says: The sad similarity between the
Exeter Theatre fire and previous dis
asters suggests a culpabe disregard of
the teachings of experience"
The NeUS says: ut is safe to say the
one effect of this awful disaster will be
a general law governing the construc-
ton and management of public places
throughout the kingdom. After this
accident and that of the Opera Comique
in Paris, we ought surely to require no
more warning"